Alan Johnston released
BBC correspondent Alan Johnston was released by his kidnappers in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after 114 days in captivity.
The journalist, 45, was handed over to armed men in Gaza City.
He said his ordeal was like “being buried alive” but it was “fantastic” to be free.
Alan’s parents, Graham and Margaret, who live in Lochgoilhead, were understandably overjoyed at the news. His father, Graham, said: “It’s a wonderful morning, I can’t tell you how good we feel. We got the phone call late last night from the BBC and we’re absolutely overjoyed.
“It’s been 114 days of a living nightmare and just to hear his voice was amazing. He telephoned us. There was a lot of noise in the background - I think he was being jostled a lot - and all he said was: ‘Hello, Dad’ and I said: ‘Hello, son, I hear you’re all right’.
“He said: ‘I’m a hundred percent’. And then the phone was cut. Margaret didn’t get the chance to speak to him. So that’s all we’ve had from him so far - but we’ve seen him on the box and it’s just incredible; it’s been a long 114 days.”
Mr Johnson said that while the first video was chilling, at least Alan looked fit and well.
The BBC told him that the second video had been released - the one in which Alan was filmed wearing an explosive belt - but they did not intend to show it.
Later, however, they called to say that it had appeared on the internet, and they felt they would have to run with the film.
“I was up until 2.30am going through Al Jazeera and other Arabic websites looking for it, but couldn’t find it, and eventually saw it on television next morning.
“I was actually quite relieved, for he looked so fit.”
He said that the level of support had been ‘amazing’. The campaign to free Alan had generated a petition attracting over 200,000 signatures and had been supported by journalists across the world. Much of the support had come from within the Gaza Strip itself, where, as the only western journalist living in the strip, he was held in particularly high regard.
Mr Johnson paid tribute to the community of Lochgoilhead, saying that the level of support locally had been incredible.
“All through this they have supported us and kept us buoyed up,” he said.
“The villagers took part in vigils every Friday and the whole community got involved in the balloon launch on the 100th day.
“We never did lose hope, but he’s been incarcerated a long time; he’ll need to decompress before we start opening bottles.
“We are both very proud of him.”
Graham and Margaret were due to fly to London on Wednesday to receive a reward on Alan’s behalf from Amnesty International.
In Lochgoilhead there is a feeling of relief, as well as elation.
Secretary of the Lochgoilhead Community Council, Leslie Cuthbertson, said: “What a relief. “It’s fabulous news, the whole village is rejoicing. We are so happy for Alan, obviously, and also for his family who are a much loved part of the community.”
The BBC reporter was handed over to officials of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which controls Gaza, and described his experience as “appalling” and “occasionally quite terrifying”.
He said: “It became quite hard to imagine normal life again. The last 16 weeks have been the very worst of my life.
“I was in the hands of people who were dangerous and unpredictable. I literally dreamt many times of being free and always woke up back in that room.”
Mr Johnston said he was not tortured during captivity but he did fall ill from the food he was served.
He added that he had been kept in four different locations, two of them only briefly.
He was able to see the sun in the first month but was then kept in a shuttered room until a week before his release, he said.
He was kept in chains for 24 hours but was not harmed physically until the last half hour of his captivity, when his captors hit him “a bit”.
Mr Johnston then went on to thank everyone who had worked towards his release.


Health board plan more hospital cuts
Following a review of Clyde health services, cost-cutting proposals have been announced which could result in further downgrading of services at Inverclyde Royal and Vale of Leven hospitals.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has approved proposals to close the delivery units at Inverclyde Royal hospital, and remove emergency treatment and delivery unit services at the Vale of Leven in advance of formal public consultation.
Tom Divers, Chief Executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “There is a need to modernise and improve services to bring them up-to-date with arrangements in other parts of the country. This includes, where possible, shifting the balance of care from hospital to community based services. Collectively, these proposals are designed to address these challenges and, at the same time, make a contribution to generate savings to help tackle the £30m funding gap for Clyde health services.”
Cathy MacGillivray, Head of Nursing for Clyde Acute Services, said: “This proposal would ensure that the two Community Maternity Units at the Vale of Leven and Inverclyde Royal Hospital remain open and continue to provide essential local maternity services which account for the vast majority of activity. These include antenatal checks, day care, scans, early pregnancy assessment, parent education and post natal checks.”
The review also recommends withdrawing acute treatment from the Vale of Leven hospital, in favour of the Royal Alexandra hospital, Paisley. Under the new arrangements, patients would be transferred back to the Vale of Leven for rehabilitation after treatment.
John Dickson, Clinical Director for Anaesthetics in Clyde, said: “Review of activity at the hospital showed that existing anaesthetic locums were only called to deal with around one patient per week out-of-hours and just over one patient a week during normal working hours. This level of activity is not high enough to meet training requirements for doctors and would not allow consultants to maintain their specialist skills. This means that it would not be possible to have a stand-alone team of anaesthetists based at the Vale of Leven.”
Jim Procter, convener of Helensburgh and Lomond Community Care Forum was scathing in his assessment of these moves, saying: “The critical point here is the £30m deficit funding shortfall. This started under the old Argyll and Clyde Health Board, and rose from an £80m total deficit in the 1990s to a £30m annual deficit by the time the health board was disbanded.
“Consultant-led accident services have been progressively run down at the Vale of Leven, supposedly for clinical and sustainability reasons, but this was never previously directly linked by the health boards to the funding shortfall - now it has been.
“Further downgrading at Vale of Leven will have significant effects on healthcare provision in Lomond and Argyll. People are already inconvenienced by having to travel across the Clyde to Paisley.
“I don’t think the authorities have any real idea of the geography of our area. I have even heard official figures quoting the distance ‘as the crow flies’ from Kilcreggan to Paisley - absolutely meaningless.”
Mr Procter was also critical of the tactics employed by both Argyll and Clyde and now Greater Glasgow and Clyde health boards. “We have seen services such as maternity provision being run down at the Vale of Leven and other hospitals for years now,” he said. “When consultants are removed from maternity units for example, people are more inclined to choose to travel to a hospital with a consultant-led unit instead. The hospital services then wither on the vine, and effectively close themselves down. I believe that this is a deliberate tactic.”
He also accused Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board of jumping the gun with their announcement last week, commenting: “The healthcare review was not done on a regional basis, and I think it should have been. In fact, though Greater Glasgow had finished their own study, the Highland Health Board review was not complete. Since the Argyll part of Highland Health Board buys a good number of services from Greater Glasgow, these two areas should have been considered together before any announcement was made.”
In Cowal, Ken Barr, chairman of Cowal Against the Cuts in Health Services (Catches) said: “Whilst we are not happy with any cuts of this kind, maternity provision is already provided in Dunoon by a midwife-led service, with consultancy back-up at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. This should not have a major effect on us in the immediate Dunoon area.”
The final decision on these plans will be made by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon.


Ferry ROW
ROSS SAYS “MISQUOTED”
The national press this week has reported on the latest round in the war of words between Western Ferries and CalMac.
CalMac has made a rare public response to various remarks attributed to Gordon Ross, MD of Western Ferries, as published in The Herald on June 30 and Shipping Times on July 2.
Both publications reported Mr Ross to have said that CalMac “control all the portage and berthing” at Dunoon; that they “don’t even try to open it out to other traffic”, and specifically that they had “never so much as lifted a phone to ask him if he wanted to use the berth.”
CalMac responded to both points with surprise, given that the pier facilities and linkspan are owned and operated by Argyll and Bute Council, and as such any decision about usage could only be made by the council.
Mr Ross advised the Observer that he had been misquoted: “I am of course fully aware that Argyll and Bute Council own the pier and linkspan.” He confirmed that he had not been approached by the council with a view to Western Ferries using the new linkspan.
Peter Timms, Chairman of CalMac, also expanded on comments about their traffic growth on the Wemyss Bay-Rothesay route. “With two new vessels on this route, one in service for two years and the other two months, our 8 percent growth compares favourably with Western Ferries’ 37 percent growth over ten years.”
Mr Timms also responded to comments about the Islay ferry service, which has apparently caused problems for the island’s distillers. He confirmed that CalMac have been working on new arrangements which would accommodate the increased production, and has been in discussion with the distillers and the Scotch Whisky Association.
“We believe the outcome of this is in the best interests of all our customers on Islay,” he said. “Details will be made publicly available shortly when the Scottish Executive have completed their evaluation of our tender.”
Finally, a letter published in The Herald on July 3 from Dunoon Pier Pressure Group stated: “Western is continuing to lobby...to have the Calmac service stopped or restricted to a passenger-only vessel, so that Western would have a total monopoly of the vehicle service.”
Mr Ross responded: “Western Ferries have never sought a monopoly,” and reiterated that what the company seeks is “a level playing field where both companies are operating on an unsubsidised basis. It is difficult to compete commercially against a company receiving millions of pounds in subsidies.”
With each company having strong supporters with equally strong opinions, the war of words will no doubt continue. (See Safety Valve, page 13)


Western “mak siccar” with new linkspans
“Mak Siccar” is old Scots for “make sure” and Western Ferries, in opening its two new linkspans last Friday, is ‘making sure’ that it provides the best service to the local community that it possibly can.
Old school mottos have been in the news this week, and company chairman Alistair Ross continued this theme in linking his school motto of “Mak Siccar” to Western Ferries’ philosophy on customer service.
With the completion of this latest infrastructure upgrade, Western Ferries now has four vessels and four linkspans, enabling it to ensure continuation of a robust vehicle and passenger service on the Dunoon to Gourock route.
The company is particularly proud of the fact that half of that capacity is a completely Clyde-built project, with Ferguson Shipbuilders Ltd of Port Glasgow designing and building the two new linkspans and the last two Western Ferries’ ships, Sound of Shuna in 2001 and Sound of Scarba in 2003.
“The relationship between Ferguson’s and Western Ferries spans forty years,” said Gordon Ross, Managing Director of Western Ferries. “The first vessel built for us by Ferguson’s is still in commission in Mexico.”
Ferguson’s naval architect, Ken Fulford, echoed the sentiments of Mr Ross, and indicated that Ferguson’s were hopeful of receiving any possible new vessel orders placed by Western Ferries.
The existing linkspans are 25 years old and have carried an estimated 11m passengers and 5m cars in the last ten years; however they will continue to be fully operational and will assist in providing a more flexible service.
The new infrastructure has cost £4m and includes the two new linkspans and berthing structures, along with improved car-marshalling and terminal facilities. With the £5m spent on the two new ships, this represents a total investment of £9m over the last six years. The company received a capital grant of £400,000 from HIE Argyll and the Islands for the linkspan project.
“Today’s opening is significant for the Scottish and local economy”, said Gordon Ross. “The new infrastructure offers improved services and better facilities for freight and passenger customers, which will enhance trade and tourism in the area”.
The new development is Western Ferries’ reaction to demand and a sign of its commitment to the community. “We are a local company serving local needs. In addition to providing timetable increases, we employ many local people, and a significant proportion of our turnover returns to the economy via our purchasing ethos of sourcing locally, and sponsorship of community organisations, events and charities”, said Alistair Ross.
In recognition of the needs of foot passengers, the new linkspans have improved passenger access. With over 50 bus connections to Greenock and Glasgow from the McInroy’s Point terminal, in conjunction with more frequent sailings, the public transport alternative is now much more accessible. Mr Ross pointed out: “Anyone over 60 with ferry card and bus card can make the journey from Dunoon to Glasgow completely free.”
The company commended the main contractors, George Leslie Ltd, and Western Ferries’ staff for their professionalism and efforts over the months, and for the fact that there was no disruption to the ferry services while the work was ongoing. The only sailing which had to be cancelled was on the day of the opening - to provide a vessel for the ceremonies at each new linkspan.
The twin linkspans were appropriately opened by twin sisters, with the ceremony at McInroy’s Point carried out by Mrs Joan McNab, and Hunter’s Quay being opened by Mrs Judith Ross, respectively aunt and mother of Gordon Ross, MD. Guests, including staff of Western Ferries, George Leslie and Fergusons, were piped off the linkspan at Hunter’s Quay by Dunoon Argyll Pipe Band.
Gordon Ross also thanked customers for their patience and loyalty over the months while the improvements were being carried out. He also advised that while this particular phase of upgrading is complete, there are still future advancements to make. “It’s no secret that we would like to start a service to Bute from Ardyne, and we do have other commercial opportunities in the early stages of development”, he said.
Local MP Alan Reid indicated that he was pleased to see the linkspans open and welcomed the benefits that they would bring to Cowal.
Final tests of the weight capacity took place on Thursday July 5, following successful completion of which, the new piers will become fully operational.